Sunday Morning
by Julie Ann Pope
Summary: Short, light-hearted ficlet. Just what do Detective Superintendents do on their Sunday morning off?


**Author's Note:** Short, light-hearted ficlet. Just what do Detective Superintendents do on their Sunday morning off?

Most Sunday mornings in the MIT were surprisingly quiet which enabled DCI Gill Murray to sit at her desk for a solid few hours and plod on with a much needed paperwork session. The trouble with being the boss wasn't just all the red tape and folioing of the investigations themselves, it was dealing with all the personnel files and procedures too. Each member of her team had their own little issues which meant that she couldn't just fill out an end of year report, tick a few boxes and be done. So when her office telephone rang she sincerely hoped it wasn't going to distract her from the task at hand for very long.

"DCI Murray," she answered quickly and professionally, hopefully indicating to the person on the other end that she didn't have time for whatever it was they were bothering her with.

"Gill, it's me." DSI Julie Dodson had no need to introduce herself formally, although Gill hadn't recognised the number on the caller display and wondered where she was phoning from.

"Oh 'ello. Shouldn't you be swimming up and down a urine infested public bath?" It was the usual way the pair spoke to each other, a sign of affection and a testament to their long friendship.

"I am…I mean I was. Something's happened and I need a favour." Julie sounded flustered and not in her usual business-like way.

"Go on."

"They discovered a body in the changing rooms while I was in the pool. I told them who I was, bloody plod knows me an' all but they won't let me back in to get my clothes." Gill found it difficult to stifle a laugh and could just imagine the great DSI Dodson trying to assert her authority in her swimming costume.

"You mean you're giving the good people of Manchester an unadulterated view of your incredibly sexy bikini body?" The repartee was out of Gill's mouth before she had thought about what she was saying. Thank goodness she had thought to shut her office door otherwise her entire syndicate would have heard. It was most definitely not the the sort of information she wanted to accidentally let slip.

"Now's not the time Gill. Can you get us some clothes from my place, preferably civvies? And some toiletries?" Julie had been due to start her shift at HQ at four o'clock but she presumed that she would now be required earlier due to her involvement in this fresh case. However, she was going to make a point that she was still technically off the clock.

"Sure, any excuse to go through your underwear drawer." Gill smirked to herself but Julie could hear the suggestion in her voice. It made her smile despite her predicament and couldn't help but retort.

"You saw all the best stuff in the first month we started shagging you daft old bat." Technically that wasn't true, but Gill wasn't to know that. Julie had to leave something to pull out of the bag when she needed it.

"Just as well, I much prefer you out of it anyway." Gill had been quite surprised at first to realise just how much she actually fancied her best friend. There had been more than a few occasions where Julie's clothes hadn't disappeared fast enough for Gill's liking and they had ended up in some very interesting positions.

"Just get your arse down here before I freeze me tits off!" Banter and flirting aside, Julie was getting desperate to put some clothes on so she would feel less self conscious in front of all the PC's roaming around.

"Yes Ma'am!" Gill responded half in jest and heard the other end of the line go dead. So much for a productive day at the office.

* * *

Gill arrived at the leisure centre and flashed her ID card to gain entry. She was sure that the officers standing guard by the entrance knew her and were probably the same ones who had almost certainly taken great pleasure in preventing Julie from being able to cover up her modesty. Gill was escorted to the poolside by a particularly young male officer and caught a glimpse of her lover wrapped in a big green fluffy towel looking nothing at all like a Detective Superintendent who put the fear of god into her subordinates.

"Thank Christ!" Julie almost pounced on Gill and not in the good way.

"Well you certainly know how to get yourself into some interesting situations. You do realise that you're never going to live this down?" Gill would tease Julie for weeks to come, of that there was no doubt.

"Don't you dare say a word!" Gill held out the bag with Julie's clothes in it and grinned.

"Would I? Go on, make yourself decent. I don't want all and sundry knowing what puts a smile on my face." The officer who had escorted Gill went to stop Julie from making a move.

"Err Ma'am?" So someone had bothered to listen to who she was after all? "You're not allowed to go anywhere with out supervision. Technically you're still a suspect until you've been officially questioned." Julie gritted her teeth in frustration, knowing that he was right but loathing it anyway.

"What if I was to keep an eye on her while she changes?" Gill held out her ID card for the young man to double check. He nodded and waved them off in the direction of the gymnasium changing rooms.

* * *

Julie had taken the opportunity to have a shower before changing into her jeans and a loose jumper. Stale chlorine wasn't an attractive aroma for anyone, let alone for a DSI or her girlfriend for that matter. Gill had derived great pleasure from watching her closely and all thoughts of the mountain of paperwork still on her desk back at base had temporarily left her mind. The older woman towel dried her hair and couldn't resist pulling Gill in for a swift and hard kiss.

"That's better. I feel more human now." Gill relaxed in Julie's arms for a few moments before she pulled back slightly to look at her. Reality began to set in and despite the teasing and flirting, Gill was still on the clock and Julie had a new murder to investigate.

"Are you going to be alright now? Only, I really ought to be getting back." Julie heard the disappointment in Gill's voice. It was hard enough during the week when they worked impossibly long shifts and it was all they could do to fall into bed together in the small hours and go back out to work a very short time later. Hopefully Julie's earlier start would mean an earlier finish and they'd actually get some time together later that evening.

"Yeah, thanks for coming to my rescue love." Julie was a lot calmer than she had been when Gill had first arrived which was mostly down to the fact that she now had some clothes on. However, Gill's presence was no small factor either and she was eternally grateful for this wonderful woman in her life.

"It was my pleasure Slap." They took the opportunity for a final languid kiss while they were hidden from the rest of the world before slipping back into their professional roles for however long the job required of them that day.


End file.
